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Four Israeli men, desperate for the release of relatives kidnapped by the terrorist group Hezbollah last year, pleaded yesterday for help from Mayor Giuliani and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Three of the hostages – Adi Avitan, Omar Souad and Benny Avraham – are Israeli soldiers captured Oct. 7 in a Hezbollah cross-border raid near the frontier with Lebanon.

“From that moment on, nobody – not the army, not the Red Cross, not Amnesty International – knows the status of our children,” said Haim Avraham.

The fourth hostage, Elchanan Tenenboim, is an Israeli businessman and army reservist who was kidnapped around the same time by Hezbollah while on a business trip to Switzerland.

His son Ory, 20, told The Post his father left for Europe Oct. 4, and disappeared without a trace.

“I woke up one morning [Oct. 16] and heard on the radio an announcement made by the secretary-general of Hezbollah, Sheik Nasrallah, that they were holding my father,” Tenenboim said.

“From that moment on, I was drawn into terrible emotional turmoil,” he said, his soft voice trembling. “It’s 209 days since I saw my father, 209 days that my world has been crumbling.”

Since the kidnapping, the families of the captive Israelis have worked nonstop to secure their release. Yesterday, the delegation met with the U.N. secretary-general in hopes he’ll appeal to the governments of Iran, Syria and Lebanon for their help in solving the crisis.

Later, the families also met with Giuliani and City Council Speaker Peter Vallone. At a press conference yesterday afternoon, Giuliani promised to take up the case with the White House and with Secretary of State Colin Powell.

“Every night, whenever we go to sleep, the only thought we have is what can we do tomorrow to help bring our sons home,” said Ya’akov Avitan.

The radical Islamic militia is refusing to let the Red Cross or anyone else see the hostages.